There have been many discussions on the topic of direct OTT releases of the films amidst the unending saga of Indian lockdown.
While the small producers are showing interest to sell off their content outright to the platforms, the big films are not showing much interest as they expect bigger than what the platforms have been offering.
Whatever it is, about 7 films are hitting OTT platforms as direct releases in the next few weeks.
#GulaboSitabo (Hindi) - June 12
#PonmagalVandhal (Tamil)- May 29
#FrenchBiryani (Kannada)- July 24
#Law (Kannada)- June 26
#Penguin (Tamil-Telugu)- June 19
#ShakuntalaDevi (Hindi)
#SufiyumSujathayum (Malayalam)
Out of these Ponmagal Vandal and Penguin are female oriented flicks starring Jyothika and Keerthy Suresh respectively. Gulabo Sitabo has Big B Amitabh and Ayushman in leads.
Shakuntala Devi is a biopic on an incredible Indian mathematician starring Vidya Balan. Sufiyum Sujathayum stars Jayasurya and Aditi Rao Hyderi.
Had it been theatrical release, the other language films including Hindi would hardly reach the rural audience.
Now the young audience sitting in remote towns of India are also holding their OTT accounts and ready to watch any new other language film showing their patronage for first day first show.
When the Spanish web series Narcos on Netflix could become a big hit even in the places like Anantapuram and Bheemavaram, why not the Malayalam and Tamil films? Moreover, the rolling subtitles have been erasing the barriers of language.
So, every regional film has got the potential to campaign in national level now digitally. Some OTT platforms are offering 'pay per view' especially for small films, instead of buying outright.
While the narrow minded producers are worrying that their films will be viewed by entire family with single subscription account, some sane minds are hoping that they can reach out to the new families from other states of India and even abroad.
The OTT revolution with direct releases will certainly globalize all the film industries irrespective of language.
So, now the onus is on the shoulders of the Telugu directors to come up with sensible and widely discussed content apart from regular so called formula and masala films.
